


Fire and Steel

by Saberfiend



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Amputee, Arguing, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Blood, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Eventual relationship, F/M, Fanfiction, Love, Marvel Universe, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Rebuilding, Robot Sex, Robots, Romance, Smut, Swearing, Technology, Ultron - Freeform, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2019-10-13 15:58:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17490953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saberfiend/pseuds/Saberfiend
Summary: Lilith Moore had never heard of what happened in Sokovia three years ago, when Ultron threatened to cause the extinction of humanity. So when she unknowingly brings back the very robot that had nearly doomed them all before, she has no idea what kind of danger she's put everyone in - especially herself.Ultron, however, is rather fond of his new human savior. Without the same resources he had before, and under constant supervision by an increasingly suspicious Lilith, he has no choice but to behave. Will his good behavior change him for the better? Or will he use this chance to take revenge on the Avengers, and end humanity once and for all?





	1. 1

5 years ago

The blaring noises of my smoke detector jolts me from my sleep, the smell of smoke immediately filling my lungs. My eyes go wide, and I jump straight out of bed. _The fucking building's on fire?!_ To my surprise, the smell of the smoke isn't what makes me gag - there's something else burning. Something I don't want to know about. I throw the nearest sweatshirt on and touch the front door of my apartment with my palm. It's slightly warm, but not enough for there to be fire on the other side. Swinging my door open and peaking my head out, I see people from all the apartments on my floor and above making a mad dash for the exit. All of the doors are open... except for the one across from mine. "Ms. Nelson?" I call out, making my way over to my elderly neighbor's door without getting in people's way. "Ms. Nelson, are you ok?"  
"H-Help!" A weak voice calls in reply, and I immediately try to open the door. When I find it's locked, I stand back and begin to kick with all my strength near the handle. One of the larger tenants in the building sees this, and runs over.  
"What's going on?" He asks, his voice rough.  
"Ms. Nelson's in here, she needs help!"  
Without a second thought, he helps me get the door open. _Sorry about the door, Ms. Nelson._ I think to myself, considering it unimportant at the moment. I look around the apartment with the tenant, both of us now having to bow our heads to keep out of the smoke. As I'm checking through the kitchen, the other tenant soon returns with Ms. Nelson's arm around his shoulders. "I've got her, come on!"  
"I'll be out soon, I'm gonna check the rest of the floor for anyone else."  
He opens his mouth to argue, but when I shake my head, he sighs. "Just be careful - and get out quickly!"  
"I will, just get Ms. Nelson out of here!"  
As soon as the two disappear down the stairs, I start my search for anyone else who may be trapped, keeping my head low to avoid the smoke. The creaking and groaning of the struggling wood of the apartment building snaps my attention to focus, making me more careful of where I step. All of the doors seem to be open on this floor now, so I turn to make my way down and out of the building. Before I have the chance, however, the groaning of the wood grows louder... too loud. I break into a sprint, desperate to get to the stairs before the next floor comes crashing down on top of me, now completely ignoring the smoke in favor of saving my life. The stairs come right into view... but I'm too late. With a final groan and pop, the top floor comes crashing down in a chaos of smoke and cinders.

Present Day

"Tony, are you sure these monthly visits are really necessary? I could check the arm on my own, you know." I mutter, watching him remove the panel on the forearm of my robotic left arm.  
"Yes, they're necessary. You can fix it, sure, but I need the data inside to be sure that the arm is communicating and working with your body." He replies, plugging his tablet into the slot inside the arm. "If your body rejects the arm, or there's a malfunction, we need to get to it as quickly as possible." The arm makes a small whirring sound as it's plugged in, and a light on the tablet blinks a couple times. Tony falls silent, looking over the pad and tapping a few things. "Hm... however, it looks like everything's fine. The arm isn't putting too much strain on your muscles... nothing's rejected it... yup, I'd say everything checks out." He shuts the tablet down and unplugs it from my arm, setting it aside and reattaching the panel. "Has it been giving you any problems? Grip issues, stretching, anything?"  
I shrug my shoulder slightly, trying to feel for anything out of the ordinary. "I crushed a cup a couple weeks ago, but I fixed that pretty quickly. Other than that, no, everything seems to be fine."  
"Good." He nods and walks over to a table, fiddling with a few tools. "You're really getting the hang of this... "tech stuff", as you so elegantly put it. It's impressive." He lifts the glass nearby to his lips and takes a thoughtful sip. "Honestly, if you're ever looking for work... well, you know where to find me."  
"Here, on the first of every month?" He chuckles, and I nod with a smile. "I'll keep it in mind. Thanks, Tony."  
"Bah." He waves a hand dismissively, walking over to the nearby window and looking outside. "No thanks needed, I've told you that. You should get home, looks like it's about to rain."

And rain it does. My sweatshirt's practically soaked by the time I reach my house, fumbling with the keys on my waist. I'm just about to unlock my door, when the glint of something metallic flashes in the corner of my vision. The key stops halfway in the lock as I turn to look. The dumpster in the alley next to my house is open, and something metal and round sticks out of it. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I make my way over to the dumpster, reaching in and pulling the metal thing out to examine it. It's relatively clean - thanks to the rain no doubt - and clearly smashed up. However... it looks like a... helmet, almost? Or a robot head. Whatever it is, it's been beaten on pretty bad. "Hm... who would just throw something like this away...?" I mutter to myself, looking around for signs of anyone having left it there. When I find nothing, I shrug and wipe the top of the metal. "Well... this looks fairly advanced. Maybe I can mess with it a little?" Putting the robot head under my arm, I return to my door and unlock it, opening it and carrying my new project inside.


	2. 2

After I come home from work the next day, I slip my jacket off, shuffle exhaustedly into my bedroom, and flop onto my bed. Letting out a heavy sigh, I muster my strength and flip over, staring up at the ceiling. The bandages on my burn scars begin to itch, but I ignore it to the best of my ability. "Shit, it's good to be home." My voice almost echoes in the empty house, and I sigh once again. As I sit up, my eyes are drawn to my computer desk. Various bits and pieces of technical equipment lay around, but the one that catches my eye the most is the robotic head I found in the dumpster just last night. Before I can think better of it, I'm on my feet, walking over to the head and picking up the dented metal. "Hm... I wonder..." It really doesn't look that badly damaged. Clearly it suffered some kind of impact, and it looks like it was probably near a blast of some kind. However, it remains mostly intact, and it doesn't look like many pieces are missing. "I can probably find what I need at a hardware store... maybe I can get some from the Facility, if Jacob lets me snag a few scraps..." I look around for some kind of port that I could hook up to my laptop, but unfortunately find nothing. "Shit... well, maybe I could just make one."  
My god I need to stop talking to myself so much.

Days of tinkering and rebuilding come and go, and before I know it I've been working on this damn thing for almost a week. "Damn, this thing really is made out of vibranium... who would just toss something as valuable as this?" No way Tony would do it, but... he's really the only guy besides the Facility that has access to these kinds of things, and even they aren't stupid enough to throw out something as powerful as vibranium. The metal of the head refuses to bend back into shape, so for now, I'm forced to leave it as it is. "Well... I can at least fuck with the wires in the neck."   
Fuck with them, I do. Twisting, cutting, tying, anything I can do to get these wires doing what I want. "This one needs more copper... hm, maybe if I tie these-" A small electric shock runs up my finger, and I immediately separate the wires. "Nope, nope, not that."   
Hours of trial, error, and electric shocks to the fingers leave me frustrated, but now isn't the time to give up. "Come on... come on, I know I'm so close." I try to give myself a small pep talk. It doesn't really work, but hey, can't blame a girl for trying. After a few moments of cooling off before I get pissed and break something, I return to work on the wires. Soon enough, I establish at least a makeshift USB line from the head to an old phone charger I had on hand. With a heavy sigh, I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand and not slightly. "Now... let's give this fucker a go, eh?" Christ, there I go again.   
I hesitantly pick up the USB and plug it into the slot on my work laptop, looking on in hopes of any signs of life from this amazing thing I found just lying in a dumpster. Should anything bad happen, I can just grab all my work info off the cloud and store it in another computer. To my shock, instead of immediately killing the laptop, a Google tab opens up. "W... what?" The Google logo glitches slightly, before the webpage itself goes black. Some strange blue pixels appear on the screen for a second, before they disappear into the black as well. I sigh softly, running a hand through my hair. "Wonderful. What the hell is this?"  
A faint glow from the robot head immediately catches my attention, and I turn to see one of the eyes and the mouth glowing red. "That's... _pretty_ creepy." I whisper to myself. I lean closer to take another look, when the glow from the light begins pulsing. At the same time, a voice begins to speak.  
"Where am I?"  
I'm immediately on my feet, nearly knocking my chair over. "W... what? What the fuck?!"  
"I could ask the same thing." The gruff, robotic voice replies. "Tell me - where am I?" The voice, distinctly male, sounds... almost confused.  
"You... you're in my house." I hesitantly respond, slowly leaning down in front of the robot head. "Can... can you see anything?"  
He hesitates for a moment, before replying. "Yes, for the most part. One of my eyes is damaged, I think." A small lighter-red pupil can be seen in the working eye. It darts around the screen before focusing on me. "Who are you?"  
"I'm uh... I'm Lilith... who are you?"  
The head goes silent again. A few minutes pass before he comes to me with an answer. "I... don't quite remember, to be completely honest." He sighs... somehow... and looks back at me, the glow from his mouth pulsing with every syllable as he speaks. "So, Lilith... how exactly did I end up here?"  
"Well, to be completely honest, I'm not sure." I shrug, getting my seat back and sitting in front of him. "I found your head in a dumpster beside my house. I thought it was cool looking, so I brought it - you - inside to... I guess... get you to work."  
"I see." He falls silent again, the pupil darting around the screen of the eye. "You like technical things, then? Robotics, computers, that sort of thing?" I nod, and he chuckles. "If you got this head to work, you must know your stuff. That's impressive. So, since I'm working now... what exactly did you plan to do with me?"  
"Well... I'm not sure." He rolls his eye, and I scowl. "Hey, don't roll your eye at me! It's not like I expected you to start talking! I just knew you were something advanced and I wanted to see if I could get it to work. I really didn't even think you'd turn on."  
He goes silent again, and I almost think I pissed him off... but then he starts to laugh. "I have a feeling you and I are going to get along just fine."


	3. 3

"Hey Jacob, do we need these extra wires for anything?"  
My boss turns around and shakes his head. "No, not that I can think of. Why?"  
"I got this project I'm working on back home." I reply, trying to shout over the sound of people welding, hammering, and just yelling in general. "I could really use the extra wire. Mind if I take it?"  
He waves his hand and nods. "Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Good luck!"

"Well someone's home a little earlier."  
"Yeah, traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." I yawn softly and put the extra wire next to my computer.  
The robot's pupil flicks over to look at the wire, then back to me. "Making something?"  
"Repairing you, actually. Just cause you can talk, doesn't mean my plan has changed at all."  
"You're... repairing me?" He seems almost shocked, as if he expected me to just throw him away. "I... I don't know what to say."  
I shrug in reply, walking over and sitting in my computer chair. "You don't have to say anything. You're made of vibranium, so bending and moving the metal isn't going to be easy, but I'll do what I can."  
"Vibranium...hm." He pauses, almost seeming to think it over. "That sounds... familiar."   
"Well, it's a pretty well known metal now that Wakanda has come out about owning it. I wouldn't be surprised if you knew about it."  
"And... I'm made of it? This... vibranium."  
"Seems so, yeah." A meow at the window seems to catch him by surprise, and I chuckle. "Calm down, It's just a cat."  
"A cat?" A web browser pops open on my computer, the word "cat" in the search bar. "Oh, I see."  
"How... how did you do that?"  
"I'm... connected to the internet, I suppose. My memories are still relatively fuzzy... kind of like that cat." I chuckle and open my window, letting the cat in and putting down a bowl of food. "Is it your cat?"  
"No, Mr. Wiggles is the neighbor's cat. He doesn't like staying in there because they smoke cigarettes inside, so he comes to see me every once in a while."  
"I see." He goes silent again, the pupil fixated on the cat. Mr. Wiggles purrs softly as he eats his food. After a few moments, he pipes up again. "Lilith, may I ask something of you?"  
"Yeah, of course. What do you need?"  
"Is there any chance you could... make me a body?"  
I blink in surprise and stare at him for a moment, not entirely sure how to process this. "Um... to be honest, ai don't think I'm at that level of trust with you yet."  
"Understandable." He goes silent for a moment. He seems to do that a lot, especially when he's thinking. "It doesn't have to be much. Just a torso, maybe some arms of you'd trust me enough. I'm not just a robot, I'm an AI. I need something to do besides sit on this desk and look around. Believe me, I'm very much appreciate you bringing me back, but-"  
"You don't have to explain." I interrupt, and he looks up at me. "I ujnderstand boredom all too well. If I can trust you not to, like, go crazy and start killing people, then yes. I'll build you some arms."  
He sighs in relief, and I swear I can hear a smile in his voice. "Thank you, I won't let you down."

Well, I don't have any vibranium, but I do have leftover metal from the Facility. Using the wires I collected from today, I begin work on constructing a relatively simple torso and set of arms. It takes me at least a week to get a basic structure ready for testing, but he seems happy all the same. "Alright, I'm gonna detach you from my computer... will you be alright?"  
"I'll be shut down for the duration, but I believe I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."  
I nod, and disconnect his wires from the phone charger. His lights go dark, and for a moment I'm a bit scared. What if this doesn't work? What if he doesn't come back online? I... I can't worry about that now. I reattach the head's wires to the wires of the torso's neck, and wait for some kind of reaction.  
It's an agonizing few minutes, sitting here in silent anticipation. However, my patience is rewarded when his lights come back on, and he lifts his head to look at me. "See?" He chuckles, tilting his head slightly. "I told you I'd be fine."  
I sigh softly in relief, running a hand through my hair. "I have to be honest, you had me worried for a little bit there." I jerk my chin toward the arms, and smile slightly. "Go ahead, give em a try. I can always make adjustments later."  
The right arm of the robot twitches, slowly rising from it's position, only to swing and swat me in the head. "Shit! I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened!"  
I errupt in laughter, and he seems confused. "It's fine, this kind of stuff happens all the time at work." He sighs, and I flash him a grin. "Trust me, it's fine. It didn't even hurt. I just have to rewire the arm a bit, and it should be fine."  
He sits in silence, watching me as I work on the arm. "You should connect that wire to this one." He speaks up softly, pointing with the other hand to a wire near the chest.  
"Um... alright." I shrug and connect the wires, not sure what I have to lose by giving it a shot. After a few tweaks, I lean back and give him a nod. "Alright, try it now."  
The arm comes up a lot smoother than before. He stretches it out, flexing and contracting the fingers. "Much better." He chuckles happily, looking over the work I've done. "This is perfect. Thank you."  
"W-Well, I wouldn't say perfect, but... I'm glad you like it." I smile, watching him move the arms around, clearly excited by his new body.  
"It's perfect for me."


	4. 4

"Hey, something bothering you, robo-dude?" I mumble around my mouthful of food, nudging his arm from my seat beside him on the couch. "You've been quiet for a while."  
"This movie is... confusing." He mutters in return, tilting his head. "Why would Simba not want to go back to the Pridelands? He would be a king, he could fix everything his uncle did, and rule over everything. What's not to like about that?"  
I put my plate down, having finished my dinner, and shrug in reply. "I dunno. It doesn't make much sense to me either, but at least he goes back in the end."  
"True." He sighs softly, and I turn the movie down a bit.  
"Hey, is something else bothering you?"  
"I... I've been remembering things."  
"That's great!" I grin excitedly, but he doesn't seem as happy as I am about it. "Isn't it...?"  
"I suppose..." He sighs again and shakes his head. "It's... complicated. They're not exactly happy memories, but I suppose I should be happy I remember something."  
I rub the back of my neck and pause the movie. "Do... you want to talk about it? Tell me what you remember?"  
"I suppose, if you wouldn't mind." When I look at him again, the expression on my face clearly showing it isn't a bother, he chuckles softly. "Well, I remember... darkness. Not nothingness, just... dark. It's cold. I get pulled into... something. Some kind of program, I think? I-It gets fuzzy after that. I remember the color orange? After that it gets fuzzy for a while. It seems like a rather large chunk of memory is gone from there." He scratches the top of his head with a finger, as if it will help him think. "I remember a couple people... not necessarily what they looked like. I know one of them had red hair. There was a building... uh..." He sighs and shakes his head slightly. "It's all fuzzy... all so fuzzy."  
"Hey, take your time. I'm not rushing you."  
He nods in thanks, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing. "It was a big building. Something important... somewhere for people to gather? Maybe a town hall, or something. Vibranium... I remember that. We had to find it... can't remember why, but it was important. Something about a body..." He rubs his face with one of his hands, clearly frustrated at his own amnesia. "Lots of destruction... explosions...battles. Just very violent memories." He looks at me and tilts his head. "Do you... do you think I did something? Something bad?"  
"Why would I think that?" I ask, somewhat shocked by the odd question. "Do you think you did something?"  
"I don't know... I feel like it." His voice is sorrowful, and he slumps back into the couch. "I feel like I did something horrendous... I just wish I knew." He sighs and looks at me, then down at his hands. "I can remember some more... a man with silver hair, for one. An army of metal... robots, perhaps? Maybe not. Someone... someone was hurting people. Hurting a lot of people. These... heroes... they tried to stop whoever it was. I think they succeeded, or at least, I hope they did. I remember some kind of explosion, and moving to another body. I remember... someone. They had a cape? I think it was... gold. Gold sounds about right. They said something to me, and then there was another explosion. Then, I'm in... well, I'm in the internet. I got trapped in a corner, in a manner of speaking... and a name. I remember a name... a place. So... Sokovia? I think. I remember... I remember..." He growls and shakes his head. "Damnit, why can't I remember more!"  
"Hey, hey, it's ok." I put a hand on his shoulder instinctively, looking at him in concern. "Look, you don't remember everything, but it seems you're remembering more and more every day. Who knows, maybe soon, you'll have your memory back. We can figure things out from there."  
He nods, relaxing slightly and leaning his head back. "Lilith... thank you. Being trapped where I was... I... I don't want to go back there."  
"You won't go back." I flash him a grin, and he looks at me, tilting his head slightly. "I'll make sure of it. If you're in any kind of danger, I'll make sure you're safe. It's what friends do."  
His head perks up slightly, and he chuckles in happiness. "Friends... right, friends. I... don't think I've had a friend before."  
"Well, no time like the present, right?" I chuckle as well, picking up my dinner plate from the coffee table and bringing it to the sink in the kitchen. "Listen, I have a friend I might be able to talk to about this Sokovia thing. I've heard of the place before, seen it in the news, but I don't really know what the whole situation with it is. I can go ask him about it tomorrow. You have anything else you'd want me to ask him?" He shakes his head, and I nod. "Alright. Well, I'll talk to him sometime tomorrow then, and I'll let you know what he says."  
"Thank you, Lilith. I'm sorry I can't be of much help." He murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I hope this isn't a bother."  
"Of course not! The whole reason I brought you in here and worked on you was to find out your story. Who you are. This is just part of the fun."


	5. 5

The traffic is horrendous on the way to Stark tower, but I get there sooner than expected. Tony greets me on the ground floor, shaking my hand. "Lilith, good to see you again. The arm doing alright?"  
"Better than ever, honestly." I chuckle and pat his shoulder. "You got time to talk? There's... something that's been on my mind lately. I was hoping you could help me out."  
"Sure. Come on, we can go up and get a drink." I walk with him to the elevator, only speaking up when the doors close.  
"Tony, you were at Sokovia when it was on the news three years ago, right?" I notice his jaw clench, and he nods slightly. "I know it might be hard to talk about, but... I was wondering if you could tell me what happened?"  
He sighs softly and rubs the bridge of his nose, clearly upset. The doors of the elevator open, and I follow him into the room. "It started with the search for Loki's scepter." He begins, pouring a couple glasses of scotch while I sit on the couch. "Hydra had gotten ahold of it, and set up a base in the mountains of Sokovia. They had taken up human experimentation while trying to figure out what to do with the scepter, and soon enough we'd figured out where they were." He walks over and hands me a glass, sitting in a chair across from me. "We raided the base, secured the scepter, and brought it back here to investigate the tesseract. We didn't know what to expect, but... we certainly didn't expect Ultron."  
I take a thoughtful sip of my drink, leaning forward out of curiosity. "Ultron?"  
"The tesseract contained an extremely powerful and advanced AI - more advanced than anything we'd ever seen. My original thought was to integrate it into my peace-keeping program, but it proved to be unstable. The AI dismantled Jarvis, practically absorbed him, and built itself a body out of old Iron Legion parts. He ended up attacking us. We destroyed his body, but he escaped."  
"Jesus..." I sigh and shake my head, rubbing the back of my neck. "Did you guys manage to track him down?"  
"Not for a while, no. He hid himself in some sort of underground facility in Sokovia for a long time, building an army. We fought him a few times, but we never knew where he was until he threatened Sokovia. We tried to get there before he could do much damage, but... we were too late. He took the capital of Novi Grad, planned to fly it into the air, and hurl it back to Earth to begin the mass extinction of the human race."  
"Well, you stopped him, obviously." I take another drink and set the glass on the table. "What happened to Ultron?"  
"We don't know, to be honest." He shrugs, sipping his own drink in thought. "Vision destroyed the last of Ultron's bodies he could run to, but I personally don't think he's completely destroyed. Ultron could go into anything - if it's connected to the internet, he can get through."  
"Shit. I'm glad you all made it out of there."  
"Well... we all didn't." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Anyway, that's what happened. We don't know where Ultron is, or even if he still exists. However, he hasn't popped up again in three years, so I can't imagine he's still around." He looks at me curiously, tilting his head. "Why did you want to know?"  
"Oh, uh.. I-I had a coworker bring it up at the Facility, and I never really found out about it, so... I dunno, I figured I'd ask someone who was there?" I shrug, keeping my knowledge of the robot to myself.

 _"Ultron could go into anything - if it's connected to the internet, he can get through."_ Tony's words stick in my head the entire ride home. _The internet. Of all god damn things... and that robot was connected to the internet... what if he's - no, no, there's no way. I found him in a dumpster, of all things. What would an extremely advanced highly-homicidal robot be doing in a dumpster?_ These thoughts are going to get me nowhere. Then again, it's not like I'm going anywhere, since I've been stuck in the same spot in this lane for the last twenty fucking minutes. I sigh and put my elbow by the window, leaning my head on my hand. "He tried to wipe out all of humanity... well, can't say I blame him." Chuckling to myself, I adjust the bandaging around my hand and slowly pull forward in the lane. "Lovely... probably a crash somewhere." I groan and press my forehead against the steering wheel. My phone starts ringing, so I pull it out of my pocket and check the screen. "Huh... no number..." I stare suspiciously for a moment, but decide to answer it. "Hello?"  
"Lilith?" _How the hell did he-_ "You haven't come home for a while, I just wanted to be sure you were okay."  
"Oh, yeah, I'm stuck in traffic." I grumble, flipping off the guy behind me who honks his horn. "How'd you get my number, anyway?" I don't remember giving that robot my number... maybe I left it on the fridge? How did he get to a phone, though...  
"Oh, I uh... found it. Anyway, I was wondering if we could talk about something when you get back? It's nothing serious, I just have a question for you."  
"Are you sure you want to wait? It might be a while, I think there was a crash or something."  
"Yeah, it can wait. Listen to some music or something, I can talk to you when you get back. Besides, there isn't anything super relevant happening until the next chapter anyway, and I think the writer is out of ideas."


	6. 6

"Lilith?" The robot speaks up politely, catching my attention. "Is there any chance I could bother you for some legs?"  
"Legs?" I tilt my head, and he nods. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in it..."  
His lights go dim for a moment, before he tilts his head. "You don't trust me."  
"No, no! It's not that. I'm just... I'm nervous, I guess. I don't think you'd hurt me, or anyone, but having a walking talking AI robot in my apartment is some government-level, even Avengers-level stuff. I'm just... concerned about the repercussions, I suppose." He remains silent, and I sigh. "Do you believe me?"  
"I do, I just wasn't sure if you were finished." He walks on his hands over to me, setting himself in the chair across from mine at the kitchen table. "I can assure you I won't let anyone see me. I simply want to be able to get around the house without knocking into things, or being too short to reach something." He studies my face for a moment, putting his hands on the table. "I believe you trust me. Of that I have no doubt."  
I chuckle softly to myself and flash him a smile. "I do trust you, I promise. I can get to work on those legs probably sometime tomorrow, would that be alright?"  
I can almost hear the grateful smile in his voice. "That would be perfect. Work at your own pace, and try not to exhaust yourself."

Ultron POV:

The human Lilith begins work on my leg attachments the next day when she returns from work. Funny... I don't believe she's told me where she works, or what she does. Then again, my memory is rather terrible. I sit next to her as she works, watching her skilled, bandaged hands working on my legs. _Bandages... is she hurt? She seems in constant discomfort... would it be rude to ask?_ I suppose there's only one way to find out. I tilt my head slightly and turn to my rescuer. "Lilith, might I ask you something a bit personal?"  
"Well, we do live together, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. What would you like to know?" _She trusts me so readily... it feels nice to be trusted._  
I rub the back of my head awkwardly. "W-Well, um... I've noticed the bandages you wear. Might I ask why you wear them?"  
She stops, and for a moment I'm afraid I've struck a nerve. However, she turns to me with a smile. "Well, there was an... accident, a couple years ago. I got trapped in a house fire, and the floor above me came crashing down. I was under there for so long, a lot of my skin got burned and is now really sensitive, so I wear the bandages to help protect myself." She nods to her robotic prosthesis. "That's also how I got this, in case you were wondering. My arm got trapped under some smoldering beams and burned me so bad I needed my arm amputated."  
A house fire, she says? I quickly search the databases online for anything I can find on the incident. "I see. The police say someone was making drugs on the floor above?"  
She shrugs, returning to work on my legs. "That's what they say. I'm not sure, but it seems likely enough."  
I decide not to press the conversation further, returning to watching her work.

"Well, how does it feel being able to walk?"  
I chuckle happily and take a few somewhat-wobbly steps around the apartment. "I'll get used to it, but this is wonderful! Thank you, Lilith, thank you." The sight of her beaming with pride fills my metal heart with joy. _She looks so pleased with herself... it's been a couple weeks since I've seen her so happy. I should make the most of this._ I carefully walk over and pull her into a hug, being careful not to hug too tightly.   
She tenses at first, probably unsure of how to react, but she relaxes and hugs me back after a moment of shock. "Awe, I didn't think you'd be this happy!"  
 _She's happier! Wonderful!_ This was perfect. I chuckle softly and rub her back gently, pulling away before it becomes an awkwardly long hug. "I'm grateful, Lilith. If not for you, I'd still be stuck in that damned garbage, trapped in the void of the internet..." I stop, the realization hitting me of just how much I owe to her. _She really did save me..._  
She nudges my shoulder gently, and I quickly snap back to reality. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm just glad I can make you happy."

POV Back to Lilith:

I've noticed the robot looking out the window quite often. _I wonder... maybe I should bring him outside? It would be risky... dangerous, even... but he looks so sad trapped in here._ I make up my mind, and - before I can change it - I walk over to him and tap his shoulder. "Hey, do you want to come on a walk with me?"  
He looks at me in shock, clearly speechless. "W... what? You mean... outside? In public?"  
"Yeah." I chuckle softly, sitting next to him. "I know a great park we can go to that I know you will love. I'll just put some clothes on you, and nobody will know the difference!"  
I can tell he's thinking it over, his attention snapping to the outside world as someone walks past with their dog. "I... suppose it wouldn't hurt."

After helping him don some of my older clothes, it's rather surprising how little you can tell he's a robot. "As long as no one sees your face, you should look like any normal person."  
He chuckles softly, putting his hands in the pockets of the hoodie. "Well, lead the way."  
I nod and lead him outside, locking the door behind us. As I put my keys back in my pocket, I notice him staring all around us. At the trees, the people, the sky... just taking everything in. The sheer wonder radiating off him - like he's truly living for the first time. "It's... it's beautiful." He whispers, noticing a small bush nearby and delicately touching its leaves. "So beautiful."  
I chuckle softly and tug his sleeve. "Come with me, there's a really calm park just down the road. I think you'll like it." He follows me happily, careful to keep his head down if someone walks by. _I hate that he has to hide, but... I can't have anyone knowing about him. Not yet._  
We reach the small park within a few minutes of walking, and I lead him to a bench underneath a tall tree, sitting down and gesturing to the spot next to me. He sits, but his attention remains everywhere else. "My... I never realized how incredible the outside is." He murmurs, his attention snapping to me for a moment. "You brought me out here... did you know I wanted to step outside?"  
"Well, I'll admit, I noticed you looking out the window. You looked... sad. I didn't want you to not experience the outside world." I grin and pat his arm happily. "You can go walk around, this park is usually pretty empty. I'm sure the ducks in the pond would appreciate the company."  
"Ducks?" His interest is clearly peaked, and he quickly rises from his seat, heading off to the pond to watch the ducks splash around. I stay in my seat on the bench, happily watching his curiosity taking him everywhere in the park. He looks truly happy, the happiest I've seen him in a long time. He turns to me from the pond and waves, excitedly pointing at the ducks as they approach him in curiosity. _He's such a sweetheart... no way this is the Ultron that Tony was talking about. I don't think he could hurt a thing._


	7. 7

Everything has been going rather well today, and it's starting to scare me. Life doesn't do this to me unless it has a shitstorm waiting for me at the end of the rainbow. I grip the wheel of the car nervously as I pull into my driveway, wondering how life's gonna slap me in the face this time. "Calm down, Lilith, Jesus Christ." I mutter to myself, getting out of the car and going inside. "Hey, I picked up a couple more movies for you to... watch..." My eyes fix on the robot, who seems to have upgraded his body quite a lot from the work in progress I had started him on. He looks over quickly, freezing in place.

"I-I... uh..." He hides his head in his shoulders awkwardly, dropping the screwdriver he was using on his arm. "I was... hoping you'd be a bit longer. I'm not entirely finished..." He grumbles under his breath as he raises his arm, a few stray wires hanging down. "All these damn strings..."  
"Jesus Christ..." is all I can mutter as I slowly walk over to him, inspecting his work with little more than shock and awe. "You did this in a single afternoon..."  
"Well, yes." He replies simply, watching me closely. "What do you think?"  
"I... I don't know." His handiwork is incredible, and he's done so much already... how much more could he have gotten done if he had more time? More importantly... why is he upgrading himself so quickly. He seems to be expecting me to say something, so I shake my head. "Your work is better than mine by far. I'm honestly impressed." He straightens his posture, obviously pleased with the response. "However." He tilts his head, and I sigh softly. "I can't wrap my head around why you would upgrade yourself so much so quickly. Did something happen?"  
His shoulders drop, and he sighs, looking out the window. At first, I think he's just going to outright ignore me, but his attention turns back to me within a few moments. "My memories are back." He mutters flatly, not sounding to excited at all about the situation... if anything, he sounds upset. "I remember who I am."  
I stare at him in silence, hesitant to open my mouth. _Do I want to know who he is, really? I feel like I already know the answer... I just... I can't accept it._ Standing here staring at him isn't going to help the situation at all. With a deep, nervous breath, I nod slightly and ask the one question I've been dying to have answered. "Well then... who are you?"  
"My name... is Ultron."

 _Ultron_. My heart drop down into my stomach. _The one answer I was afraid of._ I have a murderous, psychotic, A.I. powered robot sitting in my living room, staring at me. _What the fuck have I gotten myself into._  
"Ultron." He nods, and I blink twice in response. "The Ultron. The same Ultron who attacked Sokovia, murdered hundreds of thousands of people, and tried to destroy the human race?"  
He flinches slightly at the mention of his actions and sighs, looking down at his lap. "Yes. _That_ Ultron."  
"What. The. _Fuck_. Ultron you... you've _killed_ people. You literally tried to destroy the entire human race! You _destroyed_ the capital of Sokovia! You... you..." He looks back up at me, and I shake my head, running my hands through my hair and walking away from him. "This is fucked up. This is fucked _up._ " I can't wrap my head around all this. I can't be in this situation! I quickly turn back to him, panic starting to set in my mind. "You can't stay here. Jesus you can't stay here. You need to leave, like, _right now._ If Tony found you here... oh my god."  
"He won't!" Ultron quickly gets on his feet, putting his hands out calmly. "He won't find me. No one will find me. I can assure you you're completely safe with me here, I promise." He sighs and looks at me sadly. "Please, Lilith, don't make me leave. You've been so kind to me... I'm not the same as I used to be. I won't hurt anyone, I swear it!"  
I'm skeptical, to say the least. My suspicion is clearly shown on my face, but he doesn't seem bothered by it. Then again, his robotic head has no facial expression, so it's somewhat hard to tell. _He could just be lying... then again, why would he lie when he's clearly been doing fine this whole time? I just... god this isn't a situation I want to be in._  
"I might need some help at first." He speaks honestly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Some of my old... realizations, I suppose, are still there in the back of my mind.. but I can change. I _will_ change. Please, Lilith, just give me a chance."  
With a deep breath, I hesitantly place a hand on his shoulder. "I... I believe you. Look, I'm willing to help you out, but _please_ keep a low profile. I've met all of the Avengers at least once through Tony, and these are some tough fuckers - though you, uh, probably already knew that. I can't get on their bad side."  
"I promise, I promise." He places a gentle hand over mine, and nods. "I'll keep out of sight, don't worry. Nobody will even know I'm here."  
"Good, let's keep it that way." I sigh in relief, looking over at the movie cases I dropped on the way in. "Well... want to uh... watch a movie...?" _This just made things so much more awkward... jesus... ___


	8. 8

Taking Ultron outside again is... concerning, to say the least. Now that he has his memories back, his entire attitude seems to have changed. There's still traces of the Ultron I knew before, but his hatred for humanity overpowers any sympathy he had before. He still follows my rules, however, so I think we'll be alright. For now, at least.  
"Things don't seem to have changed at all since my time here." He mutters quietly, keeping close to me as we walk to the park we visited on our last outing. "Did I leave that little of an impact?"  
"A.I. has been effectively banned everywhere because of you." I reply quietly, thankful for the few amount of people around today. "Only the Avengers and top level government agencies have access to any form of A.I. right now. People are also more weary of robots - any kind. My old neighbor got nervous around a damn rumba for Christ sake." He chuckles softly, honestly I can't blame him. "Believe me, you caused world wide panic. After the stunt in Sokovia, the damn United Nations wanted the Avengers on a tight leash - not that it was their fault in the first place." At that, he stops laughing. I give him a reassuring glance, and he nods in return. "You caused quite a big impact, honestly - and it all happened on the other side of the world."  
He nods silently, seeming to go over the words I said... or maybe he's searching for more information through the internet? Either way, he almost walks into a damn pole.  
We almost reach the park incident free... until some jackass shoulders Ultron out of the way. "Hey, watch where you're going, buddy!" The guy snaps, turning around to glare at the robot.  
Ultron spins around and grabs the guy by the neck, lifting him off his feet. "Say another fucking word and I'll snap your neck." He snarls in response, watching the guy struggle.  
"Hey! Drop him, _now!"_ I grab on to Ultron's arm, trying to pull it down to no avail. However, he actually listens to me, releasing the guy and watching him run away. "Ultron, you fucking asshole!" I snarl under my breath, hitting his arm. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you _trying_ to get caught?"  
"I-I just... but he-"  
"I know what he did. Believe me, there are a lot of assholes like him in New York. You _can't_ just go around picking them up and strangling them! You're gonna get caught, and both of us are gonna get our asses handed to us." I sigh and shake my head, rubbing the bridge of my nose. I look up and down the street out of the corner of my eye, but it doesn't seem like anyone saw anything... thank god. "Look... you want to change, right?" He nods in response, and I continue. "Then you need to not choke people out in public, alright?"  
"I'm sorry, Lilith." He murmurs, nodding toward the park not too far away. "Shall we continue? I promise to keep myself in line... or at least try."  
"As long as you're actually trying..." We manage to reach the park without another incident, and Ultron and I take our seats on the bench beneath one of the big trees toward the center of the community park. "Things aren't going to be easy." I speak up after a few moments of silence. "But you're gonna have to work with me on this." Turning to him, I lower my voice a bit as someone walks past. "You want to change, right?"  
He looks at me and nods quickly. "Of course! I told you I did."  
"Then that determination is all you'll need. As long as you're genuinely trying, you'll be fine."  
"Lilith?"  
My blood freezes in my veins at the familiar voice of Steve Rogers, the one and only Captain America. I've only met the man once or twice, but he's good at reading people... this is going to get rough. "Oh, h-hey Steve!" I stand and greet him with a friendly smile, shaking his hand. "I'm surprised you remember me, we've only met once."  
"It's hard to forget an accident like that." He shakes my robotic hand without hesitation, a slight hint of apology in his voice for bringing up the fire. "You're a fighter, I'm glad to see you doing so well for yourself."  
"Thanks, so am I." I nod in gratitude, very aware of the growing tension radiating off of Ultron behind me. "So, what are you doing in New York City? I thought you were in Brooklyn talking with the owners of the historical sites."  
"I was, but I thought I would pay Stark a visit. We've got a few important things to discuss regarding Sokovia."  
 _Shit. Shit! Do they know about Ultron? How could they, I haven't told a living soul!_ "Sokovia? Damn, that was years ago. You guys are still having issues?"  
"Unfortunately. It seems some of the pieces of the final Ultron body were never recovered. We'd like to think they disintegrated in the blast, but you can never be too careful." He glances behind me and inclines his head in a nod. "Who's your friend? I noticed you two talking, I hope I didn't interrupt something."  
 _FUCK!_ "Oh! Uh, no, you didn't interrupt. This is a friend of mine from the Facility... uh... Ethan! This is Ethan." Ultron stands up and slowly walks over to stand beside me, keeping his face mostly hidden.  
Steve nods and extends his hand. "It's good to meet you. Sorry to interrupt your talk with Lilith, I hadn't seen her in a while and wanted to say hello."  
I look nervously at Ultron, who takes Steve's hand in his own and shakes it. "Quite alright, Mr. Rogers. Good to meet you as well." His voice sounds different, he must have changed it. Good call.  
Steve blinks in surprise and looks at the hand of the "man" before him. Before he can say anything, however, I immediately jump in. "He's an amputee, like me." He raises an eyebrow at me, and I smile nervously. "He uh... his condition was worse."  
"Right. I'm sorry, Ethan. I'm glad they were able to fix you up." He nods, releasing Ultron's hand. "Well, I should head over to Stark's tower. Hopefully I'll see you again, Lilith." He leaves with a wave of his hand, and my heart beats at a million miles a minute.   
"He knows." I only dare to speak once he's out of sight. "Fuck, he _knows!"_


	9. 9

Steve P.O.V.

"Stark!" The sound of metal hitting the floor clues me in that I might have jumped him. Oops.  
"In here." He calls, and I round the corner to see him picking up a gauntlet from his Iron Man suit off the floor. "What is it, Rogers?"  
"You remember that Lilith girl, right? The amputee you enrolled in the Facility?" I ask bluntly, crossing my arms.  
"Sure, I see her about once a month for data on how the arm is functioning. Why?"  
"Well, I saw her today. She had a friend with her... Ethan, I think she said. He was... interesting." Tony tilts his head curiously, an eyebrow raised, and I continue. "I think he was a robot."  
He chuckles, and shakes his head. "Facility kids work on all kinds of projects. I wouldn't be surprised if she's building something good."  
"He sounded like Ultron." At that, he falls silent. "I didn't get a good look at his face, unfortunately. He didn't look like Ultron, he looked like... well, a home built robot."  
I can't see the expression on his face, but judging by his silence, I can only assume he's thinking over what I said. After a long silence, he lets out a heavy sigh, placing the gauntlet back on the table. "You think she's rebuilt Ultron? You know how crazy that sounds, right?"  
With a shake of my head, I pull a chair over and take a seat. "Crazy, sure, but you do remember how we haven't been able to find some of the pieces of him, right? What if, by chance, one of those missing pieces ended up here in New York? Maybe she found one, thought it'd be cool to work with, and decided to test it out? I doubt she realizes what it is she got herself into." The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end just thinking about it. After everything that happened in Sokovia, we had all hoped... _prayed_... that Ultron would never return. Yet here we are, our worst nightmare practically realized.  
"That is something a Facility student would do." Tony mutters, leaning back against the work table. "It's too risky making assumptions right now. For all we know, maybe she just happened to program the voice a bit too much like Ultron. That's a possibility, right? Besides, if Ultron really did come back, we'd know."  
"Depends what you mean by "back". He could just be laying low until he gets his body back. Or, worse yet, Lilith is helping him."  
"Well, I doubt the latter." He grumbles, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Laying low, however... that's a possibility. An all too real possibility."  
"Now you see my point. We need to investigate this, Tony. If this really is Ultron, we definitely don't want another Sokovia situation... and we don't want him getting stronger. The longer we put this off, the more likely it is that he'll get his hands on something powerful - another robot, vibranium, anything that could possibly help him. If he gets powerful enough again... that could be it."  
"That could be it." Tony echoes, sighing heavily again. He glances at the gauntlet, then at me. "What do you suppose we do? We may be the Avengers, but we can't just barge into her house and tear the place apart."  
"No, we can't..." Shit, that could be a problem. We don't want to alert either of them to our plans, but... I feel like Lilith already knows. "Or maybe, we can." He looks at me like I'm crazy, but lets me continue. "When I saw Lilith today, she was clearly nervous. When I shook "Ethan's" hand, and I realized he was a robot, I could see on her face that she knew. So, maybe, we can just walk in there and tell her what we're looking for. You're right - I don't think she's working with Ultron. However, she's clearly hiding something she doesn't want us to find - and I think that something is Ultron. It's definitely worth a look, if you ask me. If it turns out she's really just working on a robot, then no harm done. However, if she is rebuilding Ultron... then we have a real problem on our hands, Tony."  
A small grumble escapes his lips, and he shakes his head. "I hate it when you're right. You know I hate it when you're right." He walks over to the counter across from us, grabbing a glass full of what I can only assume is some kind of alcohol, and takes a sip. "So you want us to go up to her door, knock like some weird trick or treaters, and say "Hey, sorry to bother you Lilith, but we believe you may be harboring and maybe even aiding a psychotic, omnicidal robot without our knowledge." Does this sound right to you?"  
"Well... basically, yes."  
"Right." He chuckles and sips his drink again. "Ultron might be back... just when we thought we were finally done with little ol' junior, he pops right back up."  
"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. The only thing we can do now is call... I don't know, Bruce, or Thor, somebody to help us. Then we go to Lilith's house, explain the situation, search the place, and... hopefully... turn up empty handed. Best case scenario."  
He nods, placing his drink glass back on the counter, and looks at me in concern. "Worst case?"  
I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. "Worst case scenario... we have two enemies to worry about."


	10. 10

Ultron's been getting a little better. I like to think that I'm having a good influence on him, but that could just be my ego talking. The two of us are playing Battleship, just trying to pass the time, when a knock at the door causes us both to jump.  
"Were you expecting anyone?" Ultron asks quietly, looking a bit nervously in my direction.  
"No." I mutter in reply, staring intently at the door. "Hide, just in case. The last thing we need is you being found out." He nods without another word and silently looks for a place to hide. At the second knock, I put away the game and walk over to the door, nervously turning the handle and swinging it open. "O-Oh, Tony! Hey, I wasn't expecting you." I grin nonchalantly to the well-armed billionaire, nodding to his two companions. "Cap, Thor, good to see you again. What can I do for you?"  
"Would you mind if we come in?" Tony asks, nodding to me. "We uh... have something we'd like to discuss."  
I swallow hard and nod, stepping aside to let them in. Closing the door behind them, I watch them carefully - if they find him, it's all over. "Is everything okay? You guys look nervous."  
"We are." Thor replies, taking a quick look around from where he stands. "We have reason to believe Ultron has returned."  
"W-wait, seriously?" I cast a somewhat nervous glance around my home, hoping that Ultron found a pretty damn good place to hide.  
"Unfortunately, yes." Steve responds. "I hate to say it, but... you are a bit of a suspect. I know you said that Ethan guy was an amputee, however, I'm not buying it. Now I'm not saying that you would knowingly bring a homicidal robot back, but it's not exactly out of the realm of possibility that you brought him back without knowing who he is."  
"Well, feel free to search the place, if it sets your minds at ease." I stand back and let them do their thing, not wanting to give them any more reason to be suspicious of me. They mutter quiet thank yous as they make their way around my home. Meanwhile, my heart is beating a million miles a second. _Fuck, Ultron I hope you found a good fucking hiding spot. If they catch us... oh boy._ Ultron definitely couldn't put up much of a fight being made of basically scraps, and me? I'm not about to fight the people that damn near saved my life. If it comes down to it... I'll just give in.  
I tail them in their search, though they don't seem to mind. Any questions they have, they ask me freely, and I answer them with as close to an honest answer as I can give without giving everything away. I could swear my nervousness is written all over my face, but whether they notice or not, they say nothing of it.  
We go upstairs and reach my bedroom, and they seem to search a bit more loosely - probably trying to respect my privacy, if anything. I notice something sticking out from under the bed, and quickly identify it as Ultron's hand. A gentle tap with my foot lets him know he's visible, and he silently pulls it beneath the bed. Thankfully, the three don't notice. _Under the bed? Really?_  
"Do you have a basement?" Tony asks, glancing around the room.  
"Yes, I do. I can show you, if you'd like."  
"Please." He nods, and stands aside for me to lead them to the basement. I hate going in the basement... it always runs colder than the rest of the house, and the cold air hurts my old burns. Nevertheless, I lead them down into the somewhat-dimly lit room. There's nothing much down here, really, so it should be a quick search... and hopefully the end of all this.   
"Feel free to look around as much as you need. There's a couple old projects down here, so I hope they don't spook you."  
"Old projects?" Thor asks, looking curiously at a few electronic parts sitting on an old desk. "What where these projects?"  
I shrug and cross my arms, trying to keep the cold from getting to my more serious scars. "Nothing important, really. Old Facility work, a couple computers, maybe a robotic arm or two. I tried to make improvements before Tony gave me this, but I wasn't really getting anywhere so I just scrapped them. The tech is obsolete, so it's not really worth working on anymore."  
He nods in understanding and continues his search with the other two. When they seem satisfied, they return upstairs, and I shut the basement door behind us. "Well, anything else I can do to put your minds at ease?"  
Tony looks at Cap, then Thor, then back to me. "No, I think we're done here." He clears his throat somewhat awkwardly. "Sorry about the sudden search. Ultron is... well, he's a very serious threat we'd rather not have to deal with again, you know?"  
"Oh no, I understand. If you need anything else, let me know. I'll also keep an eye out, and tell you guys if I see anything that might give you a lead." I offer to let them stay and relax before they leave, and though they thank me for the offer, they admit they should continue their search elsewhere. Once the door shuts behind them, and I'm sure they're gone, I head upstairs to inform Ultron he can come out of hiding.  
"They're gone?" He calls out from under the bed, poking his head out to see me walk into the room.  
"Yeah, you can come out now." I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Jesus christ, that was close... but under the bed? Really?"  
"I couldn't find anywhere else." He grumbles, brushing dirt off his shirt. "It worked, didn't it? They don't suspect a thing."  
"I wouldn't be sure of that. They could always come back if they don't find anything out there. We need to be more careful... all it takes is one more run-in with one of the Avengers, and it's game over."


	11. 11

_Jacob isn't at Stark Facility today... weird. The boss is usually the first one in. Must be sick or something._ Well, whatever, I need to work on my project. I've been trying to find some way to upgrade the propulsion on Tony's Iron Legion blasters, but so far I've had no luck. A lot of this tech is just way out of my league. However, I'm not one to give up easy, and I spend the next four... or maybe five... hours trying to understand exactly what I'm working with.  
Covered in grease and various wires, I think I finally understand just how these damned things work. However, my time here is up, and I have to head home dirty and frustrated. I sigh softly and press my head against the steering wheel once I'm pulled into my driveway. "Damnit... I just wasted a whole day doing practically nothing. Great use of time and resources, Lilith." The radio shuts off as I open the car door, climbing out and checking the mailbox before heading inside. "Hey Ultron, I'm home." I call out, flicking through the mail. "Credit card scam... internet upgrade package... paycheck... letter from mom in Tibet..." I drop my keys on the kitchen table and head into the living room. "Ultron, are you-" I bump into something metal and quickly take a few steps back, my eyes traveling up in shock and slight horror. "Jesus... fucking... _christ."_  
Ultron, now almost twice his original size and made out of a metal I can't even identify, rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh... welcome home?"

Sitting at the kitchen table, all I can do is stare at the gigantic robot sitting across from me. I swear to god he's gonna crush the chair beneath him. He has his hands folded on the table top, looking from me to his hands then back to me, almost as if he's waiting for me to speak first. After a few moments, I shake my head and rub my face. "I don't even have words right now."  
"Are you mad?" He asks, his voice soft like a child being scolded.  
"Mad? No, I'm not mad. Shocked? Definitely. Terrified? A little bit, yeah. Ultron you're fucking _huge!_ What are you, seven, eight feet tall?" He chuckles awkwardly, and I lean back in my seat. "What are you even made out of?"  
"Adamantium, mostly. A little bit of vibranium, and the rest is just regular metal and wires."  
" _Adamantium?_ Ultron, where the fuck did you get that? Do you know hard it is to-" I stop, and he looks at me guiltily. "You stole it." His silence tells me everything I need to know. "God damn it, Ultron! You can't just go around stealing... god fucking damn it." I sigh and stare at the ceiling, trying to decide how I want to handle this. However, no matter how I work over the situation in my brain, I'm still just as lost as I was when I walked into the house. "Was anyone hurt?"  
"Ah... define 'hurt'."  
"I... suppose I mean killed."  
"No, no one was killed." For once, I'm inclined to believe him... he seems sincere enough in his answer, and he hasn't lied to me once in the time he's lived with me. "Knocked out, definitely, but not killed. They should all definitely be awake by now." I sigh, and he continues. "I killed the cameras, so all they have is me showing up at the front door. They don't know who I was, or where I went, they won't be able to track anything back to you or where you live."  
"Are you sure?" I ask, leaning forward slightly. "If the Avengers tie this back here, we're done for. You're _absolutely sure_ nobody can trace it back to us?"  
"Lilith, you have my word." He reaches over and covers my hand with his, gripping my fingers gently. I swear my entire hand is practically the size of his palm. "I'd never let anything bad happen to you, especially not something I caused." A small blush creeps across my face, and I nod slightly.  
"Good... let's keep it that way, yes?" Ultron nods eagerly in response. "No more stealing, either. Especially not things as major as this. Understood?" Another nod, and I'm satisfied for the time being. However, I just can't piece together how he did it. _He's just one robot... and before he stole the metals, he was a pretty weak one. There's no way he could take on an entire security force by himself... is he building other robots? Did he find more of his old army?_ No matter how much I want to ask, I decide to stay quiet. There's no point in getting into it right now. "What did you do with the old body?"  
"The one you built? I've put it in the basement for now, so it will be safe. I suppose you could say it has sentimental value." He chuckles, and removes his hand from mine. "Is everything... okay, between us? Nothing left to talk about? You're covered in grease, you should probably wash up."  
"Yes, everything's fine." I smile and stand, patting his shoulder as I make my way to the bathroom. "Just remember what we talked about, and everything will stay that way. Now can I trust you not to do anything illegal in the fifteen minutes I'll be in the shower?"  
He chuckles and rolls his eyes. "No, no, I'll be off raiding the Pentagon next. Quick, somebody, call the Avengers."


End file.
